Medical Shipments Pulse Into Hurricane Francine-Impacted Areas as Hundreds of Thousands Still in the Dark

More than 373,000 people across four states were without power Thursday as a result of Hurricane Francine, which swept through southern Louisiana and weakened as it traveled inland, sending rain and winds across Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee.

The storm made landfall as a Category Two hurricane on Wednesday, but no fatalities were reported in Louisiana as of Thursday morning, according to Gov. Jeff Landry, who addressed the public during a press conference.

A large amount of rainfall inundated the New Orleans metropolitan area, with some pockets of the city recording as much as seven inches of water.

With widespread power outages continuing, Direct Relief is in contact with health facilities in the area and was fulfilling requests for medical aid from New Orleans area health centers on Thursday. Requests included N-95 masks, diabetes management supplies including glucose test strips, naloxone, respiratory medications, and over-the-counter products.

The organization has been responding to needs this week, includinga shipment of field medic packs to health staff in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward.

Direct Relief will continue to monitor requests for medications and other needs as power remains intermittent in the region.